Logging events in media files

ABSTRACT

Logging events in a media file, including: providing a logger tool to allow a user to view media in multiple ways and to capture and validate key events within the media file; and tracking and logging events in the media file by adding information to the media file including locations of bars and tone, slates, content, logos, commercial blacks, quality control issues, subtitles, and captions.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation application of co-pending U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/492,710 (filed Jun. 8, 2012; now U.S.Pat. No. 9,342,535), which is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/026,134 (filed Feb. 11, 2011; now abandoned),which claims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/429,720, filed Jan. 4, 2011,entitled “Tech Logger.”

BACKGROUND

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to logging events, and more specifically,to displaying and logging events associated with media files.

Background

Creating lists of events for a video file by hand is tedious and proneto error. Reviewing a tape or video file in one tool while manuallyentering time codes in another can lead to mistakes and inconsistency.These types of problems can make it more difficult to consistentlyhandle video files in a library.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present invention provide for displaying audio andvideo from data files and attaching metadata to the files.

In one implementation, a method of logging events in a media file isdisclosed. The method includes: providing a logger tool to allow a userto view media in multiple ways and to capture and validate key eventswithin the media file; and tracking and logging events in the media fileby adding information to the media file including locations of bars andtone, slates, content, logos, commercial blacks, quality control issues,subtitles, and captions.

In another implementation, a logger tool to log events in video isdisclosed. The logger tool includes: an adjustable filmstrip ofthumbnails for at least a part of the video; at least one audio waveformfor the video; timing information for the video; a plurality of eventsassociated with the video and locations of the events in the video; atleast one interface to display and playback the video and the at leastone audio waveform; at least one interface to create, edit, and deleteevents for the video; at least one interface to create re-usable clipsfrom the video; and at least one interface to edit, import, and copyevents or groups of events within a file or across files.

In yet another implementation, a non-transitory tangible storage mediumstoring a computer program for logging events in a media file isdisclosed. The computer program includes executable instructions thatcause a computer to: enable a user to view media in multiple ways and tocapture and validate key events within the media file; and track and logevents in the media file by adding information to the media fileincluding locations of bars and tone, slates, content, logos, commercialblacks, quality control issues, subtitles, and captions.

Other features and advantages of the present invention will become morereadily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art after reviewingthe following detailed description and accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a screen shot of a queue page of a logger in accordancewith one implementation of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a snapshot of a video page of the logger reached byclicking a title including a media file name.

FIG. 3A shows a snapshot of a stack view in the video page of the loggerin accordance with one implementation of the present invention.

FIG. 3B shows a screenshot of a list of filters displayed when thefilter tab is selected.

FIG. 3C shows video information displayed when the video info tabselected in the tabs area.

FIG. 3D shows logos information displayed when Logos is selected in thetabs area.

FIG. 4A illustrates a representation of a computer system and a user.

FIG. 4B is a functional block diagram illustrating the computer systemhosting a logger.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of logging events in a mediafile in accordance with one implementation of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Certain implementations as disclosed herein provide for displaying audioand video from data files and attaching metadata to the files. Afterreading this description it will become apparent how to implement theinvention in various alternative implementations and alternativeapplications. However, although various implementations of the presentinvention will be described herein, it is understood that theseimplementations are presented by way of example only, and notlimitation. As such, this detailed description of various alternativeimplementations should not be construed to limit the scope or breadth ofthe present invention.

In one implementation, a software tool referred to as a logger is usedto log events in a media file, such as a movie. The logger tool providesa user interface allowing a user to view the video in multiple ways andadd information to the file to track and log events in the fileincluding the locations of bars and tone, slates, content, logos,commercial blacks, quality control issues, subtitles, and captions. Thelogger tool allows the user to capture and validate key events withinthe media file required to enable downstream automated post productionprocesses and workflows.

In one implementation, the user interface provides access to the mediafile and also provides an interface to create, track, and edit eventsfor that media file. The user interface allows automatic presentationand association of events with the media file at their proper location,which can improve throughput and quality of the data. Events can begenerated manually by the user within the logger tool and also generatedby importing lists or tables of events created externally. The eventscan then be associated with the media file within the logger tool. Forexample, a user can import a quality control report into the logger tooland the logger tool is used to create events for the file matching thequality control entries.

In another implementation, the logger tool can also present informationand views on frame matching and/or differentiation based on importedmatched and/or differentiated data.

FIG. 1 shows a screen shot of a queue page 100 of a logger in accordancewith one implementation of the present invention. Queues shown on thequeue page 100 are designed to track the progress of media files througheach status of a logging process.

In the illustrated implementation of FIG. 1, the queue page 100 of thelogger includes following items/fields: status bar 110, item counter112, ‘sort by drop-down’ 114, search field 116, ‘expand/collapse all’118, title 120, identifiers 130, expand 122, thumbnail 124, collapse126, file specs 128, ‘add movie’ field 132, and logout. The status bar110 is clicked to display the files in the selected status, whichincludes All, Loading, Ready for Logging, User working, Ready forReview, Completed, and Rejected. The item counter 112 displays thenumber of files showing for the chosen status. The ‘sort by drop-down’item 114 is clicked to select an identifier (e.g., Title, Status, TaskId, Added date, Feature, User assigned, and Kit Id) in which the fileswill be arranged and viewed.

The search field 116 displays the files that meet the entered keywordcriteria. The ‘expand/collapse all’ item 118 is clicked to expand orcollapse additional file information (i.e., file specs) for all files inthe current status. The title 120 includes a file name that is clickedto proceed to a video page of the logger. The identifiers field 130shows file specific identifying information. The expand icon 122 isclicked to display additional file information. The thumbnail 124 showsa single frame selected to visually represent the file. The collapseicon 126 is clicked to hide additional file information. The file specs128 show additional technical file information. The ‘add movie’ field132 is used to insert a selected file not currently in the logger toolinto a loading status.

FIG. 2 shows a snapshot of a video page 200 of the logger reached byclicking a title including a media file name (e.g., 120 in FIG. 1). Inone implementation, the video page 200 of the logger includes sections,controls, and commands that are used to view, verify, and captureevents. For example, the video page 200 of the logger provides/displaysfollowing: an adjustable filmstrip of thumbnails for all or part of avideo file; audio waveforms for the video; the video with timinginformation (e.g., time code, tape time code, frame number); eventsassociated with the video and their location in the file (e.g., by timecode); interfaces to display and playback video and audio waveforms;interfaces to create, edit, and delete events for the video file;interfaces to create re-usable clips from a video file (e.g., creatingnew logos); interfaces for editing, importing, and copying events orgroups of events within a file or across files; interfaces to a userthrough a web browser.

In the illustrated implementation of FIG. 2, the video page 200 includesfollowing sections, controls, and commands: page selector 210, eventoverview 212, master strip 214, looking glass 216, event strip 218,event indicator 220, anchor 222, audio waveform 224, audio magnification226, standard timecode 228, tape timecode 230, frame number 232, playercontrols 234, magnification slider 236, volume slider 238, player pane242, and stack view 240. The page selector 210 is used to choose whichpage to view (e.g., Queue, Video, or Audio). The event overview 212represents sections of the file containing events. In one case, knownevents and unknown events are represented by different colors.

The master strip 214 represents the entire file timeline from start toend. The looking glass 216 is located in the master strip 214 andmagnifies the surrounded section of the file in the event strip 218. Thedefault position of the looking glass 216 upon opening a new filecontains the entire file. The event strip 218 is a magnified sectionlocated inside the looking glass 216 on the master strip 214 that cansplit the file into events. The event indicator 220 is a stroke thatoutlines each individual event. For example, a first thumbnail withinthe event indicator 220 is the first frame of the event, and a lastthumbnail within the event indicator 220 is the last frame of the event.The anchor 222 is represented by a vertical line that crosses the eventstrip 218 and audio waveform which represents the location in the file.This file location will display in the player pane 242. The playercontrols 234 are buttons that control basic playback tasks such asplaying, pausing, fast forwarding, and rewinding. The magnificationslider 236 adjusts the size of the looking glass 216 which can increaseor decrease the amount of the master strip 214 that is displayed in theevent strip 218. The player pane 242 displays the frame located to theright side of the anchor 222. The stack view section 240 is the actioncenter of the logger video page 200.

In one implementation, the video page 200 of the logger can be navigatedusing the sections, controls, and commands described above. For example,the master strip 214 can be navigated by clicking and dragging thelooking glass 216 to the right or left to view different sections of thefile in the event strip 218. The size of the looking glass 216 can beadjusted by moving the magnification slider 236 toward minutes toincrease the size of the looking glass 216 and toward frames to decreasethe size of the looking glass 216. In another example, the event strip218 can be navigated by clicking and dragging the anchor 222 to theright or left along the event strip 218. The event strip 218 can bedragged to the right or left while the anchor 222 remains in the samelocation. Dragging the event strip 218 also moves the looking glass 216in the master strip 214. When the desired event on the event strip 218is clicked, the event strip 218 will move to place the anchor 222 beforethe first frame of the selected event. Either the Enter key can bepressed or the event on the event strip 218 can be clicked to alsoexpand the event in the center of the strip 218. Up or down arrow keycan be used to move to the next or previous event. In yet anotherexample, when an event in the stack view 240 is selected, the eventstrip 218 will move to place the anchor 222 before the first frame ofthe selected event, and expand the event in the center of the eventstrip 218.

FIG. 3A shows a snapshot of a stack view 300 in the video page 200 ofthe logger in accordance with one implementation of the presentinvention. The stack view 300 shows the tasks being completed as well asfilter tools and other information. In the illustrated implementation ofFIG. 3A, the stack view pane 300 includes track information 310(including a track drop down button 312 and an add track button 314),tabs 330 for showing filters 332 (see FIG. 3B), video information 334(see FIG. 3C), and logos 336 (see FIG. 3D), and event row 320. Asdescribed above, known events and unknown events can be represented bydifferent colors 322. The stack view pane 300 further includes ‘AllNotes Expander’ 316 and ‘Notes Expander’ 318. The track information 310section provides options to: import quality control report, captions,subtitles, or script alignment; copy from a selected title; or create anunknown default event that represent the entire file.

FIG. 3B shows a screenshot of a list of filters 332 displayed when thefilter tab is selected. A selection of one or more filter from the listof filters allows viewing of the events contained in an individual trackby category. Thus, the filter can be selected to show in the track onlythe events in that filter category. More than one filter can be turnedon at one time to allow viewing of the events in the selected filtercategories by pressing multiple filter buttons.

FIG. 3C shows video information 334 displayed when the video info tabselected in the tabs area 330. The video information 334 providesinformation such as frame rate, language, and other pertinent videoinformation.

FIG. 3D shows logos information 336 displayed when Logos is selected inthe tabs area 330. To view logos in the logos window of the stack view300, click the logos button under the track name. To search logos, clickto place the cursor in the search field with the logo window open. Tocreate a new logo, execute the following steps: create an event thatrepresents the logo from start to end; click on the ‘edit mode’ icon inthe stack view for the event that contains the logo; choose ‘Logo’ inthe event category menu and the corresponding logo type (e.g., Logo,Production Company Logo, Distribution Logo, or Production Logo); placethe anchor on the frame that most accurately represents the logo in theevent strip; click the ‘OK’ button or double-click the correct eventtype in the event category menu; type in the desired logo name in thesearch field when the logo window appears over the stack view; click the‘Create New’ button; and click the ‘submit’ button to assign the newlycreated logo to the event when the new logo appears in the stack view.

Returning to FIG. 3A, each event row 320 will display the event type ithas been assigned, the event description, duration, as well as start andend. The measurement of the duration and start and end information willdisplay based on the highlighted measurement field. Each event type isrepresented by a different color 322 in the ‘event type’ column in thestack view 300. Table 1 shown below broadly defines the available eventtypes.

TABLE 1 Type Category Definition Audio Program Audio Start Audio FadeOut Audio “Two-Pop” Audio Sync Point A hard effect that can be used tosync the audio track with the visual queue. Bars And Bars And Tone SMPTEcolor bars together with a Tone continuous 1000 Hz audio tone at thebeginning of the file to calibrate playback equipment. Blacks Fade toBlack Blacks Commercial Black Periods of black picture over MOS placedwhere commercial breaks would be inserted. Black Roll-up/Pre- Periods ofblack picture over MOS roll typically preceding bars and tone. CaptionCaption Verifying that the caption is correct and in sync with thevideo. Credits End Credit Start End Credit End Usually located at theend of program, credits contain information regarding the making of theprogram. Credits Credits out of Safe Action Credit Change Scrolling endcredits start Foreign Credit/Dub Credits that have been fully Cardlocalized/White on black card that states the dub talent. CroppingCropping Dialogue Dialogue Foreign Dialogue Foreign Foreign Texted StartTexted (by Language) Foreign Texted Foreign Texted End Dialogue that isin a language (by Language) other than the stated OV of the file.Foreign Texted Slate Graphics Graphics/Text Text Over Picture Text InPicture Graphics Overlay Insert Insert Start Insert Insert End Textedvideo clip that is meant to be inserted in program to take the place oftexted OV material Insert Slate Language Language Logo Logo ProductionCompany Graphic and audio that represents Logo the entity that producedthe material. Distribution Logo Graphic and audio that represents theline of business that is distributing the material. Production LogoProduction Company Logo that has (Customized to title) been integratedinto program in such a fashion that it is not a standard productioncompany logo. Mains Main Title Main Title Start Main Title End FirstHard Cut after Mains Mains Over Picture Out of Safe Title Within SafeAction Mastering Mastering Note Note Music Music Program Program StartProgram End Program QC Issue QC - Picture issue QC - Audio issuexxxSlates Slate Insert Slate Program Slate Information card thatdisplays tape metadata relevant to the file such as feature title,aspect ratio, part - timecode, runtime, audio configuration, date P.O.#/vendor facility, textless material, source material, etc. Trailers SlateTextless Slate Speaker Speaker Gender Gender Subtitles Subtitle (inpicture) Textual versions of the dialog in films and televisionprograms, usually displayed at the bottom of the screen. They can eitherbe a form of written translation of a dialog in a foreign language, or awritten rendering of the dialog in the same language, with or withoutadded information to help viewers who are deaf and hard-of-hearing tofollow the dialog. Subtitle (component validation) Tape Start ofReel/Part End of Reel MultiPart Join Parts Textless Textless TextlessStart Textless End Non-texted portions of the program located at the endof the file. Some titles do not have textless material available.Textless Slate Trailer Trailer (English) Foreign Language Trailer (bylanguage) Transitions Last Hard Cut

Each track includes at least one event that represents the entire filefrom beginning to end, or many imported or copied events that combinedinclude the entire file. Each new event is a portion of an existingevent. Thus, to create a new event, place the anchor on or directly infront of the first frame of the event to be created in the event strip.This will display the first frame of the event in the player pane.Select to split the current event into two events. The frame to theright of the anchor now represents the first frame of the new event andthe frame to the left of the anchor represents the last frame of theprevious event. The event will automatically be categorized as Unknown.

FIG. 4A illustrates a representation of a computer system 400 and a user402. The user 402 uses the computer system 400 to log events in a mediafile, such as a movie. The computer system 400 stores and executes alogger 490.

FIG. 4B is a functional block diagram illustrating the computer system400 hosting the logger 490. The controller 410 is a programmableprocessor and controls the operation of the computer system 400 and itscomponents. The controller 410 loads instructions (e.g., in the form ofa computer program) from the memory 420 or an embedded controller memory(not shown) and executes these instructions to control the system. Inits execution, the controller 410 provides the logger 490 as a softwaresystem, such as to enable logging of events in a media file.Alternatively, this service can be implemented as separate hardwarecomponents in the controller 410 or the computer system 400.

Memory 420 stores data temporarily for use by the other components ofthe computer system 400. In one implementation, memory 420 isimplemented as RAM. In one implementation, memory 420 also includeslong-term or permanent memory, such as flash memory and/or ROM.

Storage 430 stores data temporarily or long term for use by othercomponents of the computer system 400, such as for storing data used bythe logger 490. In one implementation, storage 430 is a hard disk drive.

The media device 440 receives removable media and reads and/or writesdata to the inserted media. In one implementation, for example, themedia device 440 is an optical disc drive.

The user interface 450 includes components for accepting user input fromthe user of the computer system 400 and presenting information to theuser. In one implementation, the user interface 450 includes a keyboard,a mouse, audio speakers, and a display. The controller 410 uses inputfrom the user to adjust the operation of the computer system 400.

The I/O interface 460 includes one or more I/O ports to connect tocorresponding I/O devices, such as external storage or supplementaldevices (e.g., a printer or a PDA). In one implementation, the ports ofthe I/O interface 460 include ports such as: USB ports, PCMCIA ports,serial ports, and/or parallel ports. In another implementation, the I/Ointerface 460 includes a wireless interface for communication withexternal devices wirelessly.

The network interface 470 includes a wired and/or wireless networkconnection, such as an RJ-45 or “Wi-Fi” interface (including, but notlimited to 802.11) supporting an Ethernet connection.

The computer system 400 includes additional hardware and softwaretypical of computer systems (e.g., power, cooling, operating system),though these components are not specifically shown in FIG. 4B forsimplicity. In other implementations, different configurations of thecomputer system can be used (e.g., different bus or storageconfigurations or a multi-processor configuration).

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method 500 of logging events in amedia file in accordance with one implementation of the presentinvention. In the illustrated implementation, the method comprisesconfiguring a logger tool, at box 510, to allow a user to view media inmultiple ways (box 512). The user also captures and validates key eventswithin the media file, at box 514. Events in the media file are trackedand logged, at box 520, by adding information to the media file, at box522, including locations of bars and tone, slates, content, logos,commercial blacks, quality control issues, subtitles, and captions.

The above description of the disclosed implementations is provided toenable any person skilled in the art to make or use the invention.Various modifications to these implementations will be readily apparentto those skilled in the art, and the generic principles described hereincan be applied to other implementations without departing from thespirit or scope of the invention. Accordingly, additionalimplementations and variations are also within the scope of theinvention. For example, the examples focus on displaying and logging formovies, but a logger can be specialized for other video, such astelevision shows, internet video, or user generated content, or foraudio, such as radio or podcasts. All features of each example are notnecessarily required in a particular logger implementation. Further, itis to be understood that the description and drawings presented hereinare representative of the subject matter which is broadly contemplatedby the present invention. It is further understood that the scope of thepresent invention fully encompasses other implementations that maybecome obvious to those skilled in the art and that the scope of thepresent invention is accordingly limited by nothing other than theappended claims.

1. A method of logging events in a media file, the method comprising:providing a logger tool to allow a user to view media in multiple waysand to capture and validate key events within the media file; andtracking and logging events in the media file by adding information tothe media file including locations of bars and tone, slates, content,logos, commercial blacks, quality control issues, subtitles, andcaptions.